


These Scars Will Lead Me To You

by mukedayparade



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Luke and Ashton are best friends, M/M, Self Harm, Soulmate AU, Trigger Warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-26 18:16:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2661683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mukedayparade/pseuds/mukedayparade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And then he explained to Luke that his soulmate was really sad, and his sadness drove him to hurting himself</p><p>or, </p><p>Luke lives in a world where soulmates get whatever marks and scars their soulmate gets, and Luke gets scars on his arms from his soulmate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	These Scars Will Lead Me To You

**Author's Note:**

> I really really love Soulmate AU's and muke and angst so...
> 
> tell me what you think.

Luke was 5 when he got his first mark. Or, at least the first one he remembers.

It was a little scrape on his knee, nothing too exciting. But he knew he hadn't gotten it himself, despite being the clumsiest person he knew.

He asked his mum where it'd come from, so she explained the marks to him. How every person had a soulmate, and when one soulmate got some sort of injury, the other soulmate had it show up on their skin as well. Luke was beyond excited that he had this special connection with someone. He couldn't wait for the day that he found the person with matching marks to him.

**~*~**

When Luke was 13, he started getting the marks on his arms.

He was confused, not sure what they meant. He knew that they were from his soulmate, but they didn't seem...accidental.

He went to Ashton about it, figuring that his best friend would know what it meant. He was 15 after all.

But when Luke asked Ashton about it, he almost regretted it.

Ashton looked so deeply upset and went silent for a while. And then he explained to Luke that his soulmate was really sad, and his sadness drove him to hurting himself.

And Luke's. Heart. _Broke_.

**~*~**

The cuts continued to show up for the next few years.And as time passed, they got deeper, and more abundant.

Luke felt helpless, wanting desperately to help his soulmate, but having no way to do so.He found himself curled into himself on the bathroom floor almost every night, clutching his arm as the marks appeared.

He just felt so _lost_ and _useless_.

**~*~**

Luke was 16 the first time his soulmate tried.

The night started off normally, just as it did almost every night. Luke was sitting on his bathroom floor, staring helplessly at his arms as red marks crowded onto them. But this time was different.

The cuts were usually pretty shallow, and his soulmate would stop after about 10. However, this time, there were nearly 20 cuts. So many Luke had lost count. And they were _deep_.

Luke didn't know what was happening at first, it took him a bit to figure it out. And then he did; his soulmate was trying to kill himself.

Luke screamed, so loudly he was sure it'd woken up the whole neighborhood. And then he started crying, then sobbing. He grasped his arm, trying in vain to close the cuts, to make his soulmate stop.

His mum burst into the bathroom then, and gasped at the sight of her son on the bathroom floor, sobbing and clutching his arm. Luke's mum didn't know, he hadn't wanted to tell anyone but Ashton.

"Luke! What are you doing? Stop!"

"I-it's not me, mum."He choked out, tears streaming down his face.

"Wha–"

"My soulmate."

So Luke's mum got on the bathroom floor with her son, holding him in her arms as he cried. He fell asleep there, although he tried desperately to stay awake for as long as he could.

He awoke the next morning in his bed, not sure how he'd gotten there. At first he thought– _hoped_ –last night had been a dream. But when he looked over toward his bathroom and saw his mum asleep, leaning against the tub, he knew it was real.

He did the first thing he could think of, despite it terrifying him. He checked his arms. 

When a person's soulmate died, the marks disappeared.

Luke shut his eyes, praying not to find a blank arm.

He let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. They were still there, along with some tiny holed along the edges of the deeper cuts. Stitches. Someone had found his soulmate.

**~*~**

It happened 2 more times. 

When he was 17, his soulmate cut his thighs deep enough to try to end it; his arms had no space left. Luckily, someone found him once again.

But then later that year, his soulmate tried again. The same way, but he was back to his arms now. 

Luke wasn't sure what to do; his soulmate was suicidal, and he could do nothing. But then Luke got an idea. 

**~*~**

Luke's mum was very against him getting a tattoo.

It took months to convince her, and meanwhile, his soulmate was cutting deeper and more frequently. Luke was getting desperate when his mum finally caved and agreed.

Luke was nervous as hell; he hated pain. But anything was worth it for his soulmate.

It wasn't a big tattoo, just a little heart on his left ring finger. Right where a wedding ring would go. He hoped it was enough. 

**~*~**

The cuts started to slow down a little after he got the tattoo. It'd been 6 months, and his soulmate hadn't tried to end their life again once. Luke felt successful.

But then the cuts started up again, just as bad and just as frequently. His soulmate never cut too deep or too much, but he was still cutting. Luke needed to make them stop; he needed to find his soulmate now more than ever.

**~*~**

When Luke was 18 he graduated high school. 

It was the day after graduation, and Luke was slightly hungover. And ok, Luke didn't drink a lot. Or _ever._  So a little hung over for him was too much. 

He'd spent the night at Ashton's apartment, and Ash provided beer and movies and pizza for them to celebrate Luke's graduation. It was perfect, but now Luke felt like shit. And, _of course,_ Ashton didn't have any coffee. 

So Luke splashed some water on his face, grabbed his wallet, and set out to the coffee shop down the block. The line wasn't bad, but Luke's head hurt and everything was so _loud_ and he just needed some _coffee_. Like, now. 

So the line took forever and Luke was rude to the woman taking his order because he just felt _shitty_ , but he got to order and his coffee was coming. He waited and waited and _finally_ , they called out his order and he hurried to get it. 

But as he grabbed for the cup, so did someone else, and they were both holding onto it. And Luke was staring this kid down because he was _hungover_ and he needed coffee, _now_. 

"This is mine, back off." Luke grumbled, and he wasn't usually like this, but he felt like shit and this kid was standing between him and his coffee. 

"No way, man. It's mine." 

"Look dude, I'm hungover as fuck, and I just need this coffee. Yours is coming."

"You look, _dude_ ," the kid sneered, mocking Luke. "I was up until ass o'clock  in the morning and _I need_ this coffee. Hand it over."

"No way, come on, just–"

And then Luke looked down. 

And there on the boy's left hand ring finger, was a small heart tattoo. Identical to Luke's.

"Oh my god." Luke's voice was soft and quiet and he let go of the cup.

"What?" The other boy looked confused at Luke's sudden mood change.

"You–you're–" Luke stuttered, unable to form words.

"I'm _what_ , mate? What's wrong with you?"

Luke didn't reply, instead he threw his arms around the other boy, holding him close. He felt tears slipping down his cheeks, because he'd finally _found_ him. 

"Hey, get off of me! What the fuck–"

"I found you, I found you. Oh my god, I finally _found_ you." 

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Luke wordlessly pulled away, grabbing the other boy's hand. Luke's soulmate looked panicked all of a sudden, snatching his hand back and clutching it to his chest. It dawned on Luke that his soulmate didn't want him to see his arms. Didn't want anyone to know.

So instead, Luke held out his hand, showing off his matching tattoo.

"What? So we have the same tattoo. Big whoop." The other boy attempted to come off as nonchalant, bit his voice shook.

So Luke slid his sleeves up.

The other boy looked amazed and curious and, most of all,  _scared_. 

"I'm your soulmate." Luke muttered.

"Y–you..."

"I'm Luke. I'm your soulmate."

"M–Michael." 

And then Luke pulled Michael into his arms again. He never intended on letting go.

**~*~**

It'd been 3 years since that day in he coffee shop. Michael and Luke were living together in a tiny apartment. And Michael was 6 months clean. 

It'd taken a while for him to trust Luke, to let him in. But after a few months, he let the other boy help him. Luke found out all about how Michael had been bullied since he was little, and how his dad used to add to it at home. He told Luke that the first time he'd... _tried_ , it was right after his dad left. He told him how bad it'd been afterwards as well, and why he'd done it both other times. And then he told Luke how the tattoo had given him some hope, had made him realize he had a soulmate who loved him despite all the scars he knew he had.

Two years after they'd gotten together, Luke had given Michael a promise ring. It had a small heart engraved on the simple silver band, so that it lined up with his tattoo. He got the same one for himself as well.

And now Michael was doing so much better. He still had bad days, sometimes it seemed like there were more bad days than good ones. But the good ones made it all worth it. And Luke could see him improving, could see how much happier he was, how much better he was. And nothing could've made Luke happier, or prouder of his boyfriend.

There were a lot of bad years, and Luke had many days when he'd truly believed he'd never find his soulmate. He had spent so many nights sitting up in his bathroom, scars appearing on his wrists that he hadn't made. But in the end, it was alright; it almost made him believe that it had all happened for a reason. Because in the end, those scars led him to Michael. And it was the only place he ever wanted to be.


End file.
